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Mark Donohue

Donohue obviously was able to put his conclusions into practice, as he chalked up an outstanding record of achievements in his racing career. His 29 career victories and 10 wins in a single season (1968) in SCCA Trans-AM racing have never been equaled.

Donohue was hot out of the chute in his first year of competition, capturing a SCCA National Championship. He eventually went on to add six more national championships to his record in sports club racing.

The high banked oval was Donohue's next challenge, and he made his debut there in the 1966 Daytona Continental, as part of the Ford factory team. Driving for the first time at speeds over 200 mph, Donohue's performance would have satisfied a veteran, let alone a rookie; a third place at Daytona. He followed with a second place finish at Sebring in his Mustang.

The same year, Donohue was invited to join forces with Roger Penske. It would become one of the most successful owner-driver associations in the history of the sport. Driving in both the USRRC and Can-Am series, Donohue finished the season, number two in Can-Am, behind John Surtees.

Donohue was on a roll. The next two years (1967-68) saw him take honors as U.S. Road Racing Champion. Ford had a tight grip on the TransAm series, but in 1968, running a Penske-prepped Chevrolet Camaro, Donohue showed the others his tail lights, taking 10 of the 13 races.

Turning his sights on the Indianapolis 500, Donchue's first time out in 1969 saw him honored as Rookie of the Year when he finished seventh. The following year he came home second. In 1972, Donohue finally made it to Victory Lane at the Brickyard.

Mark helped Porsche establish a place in the high echelons of American racing in 1973 when he drove his 917/30 to the Can-Am championship. His six victories in eight events crushed the competition.

Donohue went into retirement after the 1973 season, but was convinced that a solid effort in Formula One could win the championship. He began an assault in 1975 on the Formula One Grand Prix circuit. Mark's career was tragically cut short in a crash during practice for the Austrian Grand Prix that year.

Dan Gurney drove his first race at California's old Torrey Pines circuit in 1955, and within four years was sitting in a factory Ferrari at the French Grand Prix. Two years later he stood alongside Phil Hill on the rostrum at Monza as Hill became American's first World Champion.

Even though he won more Grand Prixs, four than any other American until Mario Andretti, Gurney was never able to duplicate Hill's feat during a Formula One career that spanned 11 seasons. He was, however, one of few in Grand Prix racing able to run with the legendary Jim Clark, and at the fleet Scot's funeral Clark's father confided that Dan had been the only driver his son had feared.

Versatility was Gurney's trademark, he could drive anything, anywhere, and take it to the front. Victories came in Formula One and Indy Cars, the Can-Am and Trans-Am and at LeMans. He won the 500-mile stock car race at Riverside five times in six years, and was an integral part of the Ford Cobra team that brought a World Manufacturer's Championship to the USA.

Stronger even than his seemingly boundless ability was an overpowering will to win, the continual urge to go faster and do better. This eventually led to the creation of All American Racers to build the successful line of Eagle racing cars that continues today in the form of Toyota-powered prototype sports cars.

His victory in the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix remains the only Formula One win by an American driver in a car of his own construction, and he is generally regarded as the man who fundamentally shaped the modern era of the rear-engined Indy Car.

An engaging man with an active intellect and a sharp sense of humor, Dan Gurney is far more than just a string of statistics. An outspoken advocate of fairness and decency, he will always be an excellent ambassador for motorsports.

ARMSTRONG, CHITWOOD, KULWICKI, McGRATH, SQUIER, TITUS & VOGLER TO BE INDUCTED INTO MOTORSPORTS HALL OF FAME

    

DETROIT, MI – Racing luminaries Dale Armstrong, Joie Chitwood, Alan Kulwicki, Jeremy McGrath, Ken Squier, Jerry Titus and Rich Vogler will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America when the organization stages its annual induction ceremony on Aug. 25, 2010 at The Fillmore Detroit.

“The Motorsports Hall of Fame Class of 2010 features champion drivers who doubled as an innovative crew chief, a showman and stunt man, a race team owner and a magazine editor.  Joining them are an all-time win leader in sprint cars and midgets, a ground breaking broadcaster and a legendary Supercross rider whose nickname was ‘Showtime.’  Their exploits on and around the race tracks of America make them true hall of famers,” said Ron Watson, president of the Hall of Fame. 

Dale Armstrong – Credited with numerous innovations in drag racing technology, Armstrong was the first crew chief to use wind tunnels for improved aerodynamics.  This mechanical genius tuned Kenny Bernstein to four consecutive Funny Car championships in 1985-1988, plus a total of 28 national event wins.  Later, with Bernstein in the Top Fuel division, he became the first crew chief to break the 300 MPH barrier.  The 1996 Top Fuel title placed Armstrong among the elite crew chiefs to have won championships in both Funny Car and Top Fuel.  Armstrong had an outstanding driving career himself, winning 12 NHRA National events in the 1970s.

Joie Chitwood - Known as “The Chief,” Chitwood had two successful careers; one as a racer and another as a world-renowned stuntman.  He was the AAA East Coast Sprint Car Champion in 1939 and 1940.  He was the CSRA Sprint Car Champion in 1942.  He raced at Indianapolis seven times, placing 5^th on three occasions.  He was the first driver to wear a seat belt at the Brickyard.  His popular and long-running Joie Chitwood Thrill Show led to stunt work in motion pictures and television. Chitwood died in 1988.

Alan Kulwicki - Hard working and fiercely independent, he worked his way up from the short tracks of the Midwest to become the first owner/driver since Richard Petty in 1979 to win the NASCAR Cup championship when he dramatically captured the title in 1992.  The NASCAR Rookie of the Year in 1986, Kulwicki inaugurated the “Polish Victory Lap” when he celebrated by circling the track clockwise after he won for the first time at Phoenix in 1988.  Kulwicki died in April 1993, during his reign as NASCAR champion, when his plane crashed en route to a race in Bristol, Tenn.

Jeremy McGrath - This native Californian became the most popular motorcycle racer of the 1990s and perhaps all time.  From 1993 until his retirement in 2002, McGrath obliterated every record in AMA Supercross racing en route to eight national championships.  His unique crowd pleasing riding maneuvers, while leaping the high-flying jumps of Supercross, helped launch the sport of freestyle motocross.  His tremendous fan appeal gave impetus to the rapid growth of Supercross, but his popularity transcended the sport.  McGrath appeared regularly on national television shows and commercials, along with starring in video games that topped the sales charts during his reign as the “King of Supercross.”

Ken Squier - The owner of the voice that introduced millions to stock car racing began his career as a track announcer in the 1950s.  While owning radio stations that formed the Radio Vermont Group, he acquired the Thunder Road track in Barre, Vt., and later became the lead voice of the Motor Racing Network providing NASCAR coverage on national radio.  He was one an ABC motorsports announcer in 1964 before moving to CBS for the first flag-to-flag live coverage of the Daytona 500 in 1979.  His call of that historic event is credited by many to have been a major contributor to a significant growth spurt for the phenomenal popularity of NASCAR.  He still plies his trade as a commentator on the FOX Network.

Jerry Titus - During the 1960s, the glory days of Trans Am racing, Titus was one of the series’ dominant drivers.  His five wins in 1967 won the championship and the manufacturer’s trophy for Ford. He placed third in points in 1968 and 1969.  An accomplished writer and editor of Sports Car Graphic Magazine, Titus was killed in a racing crash at Road America in 1970.  Titus' name is remembered annually by the America Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association when it presents its choice for driver of the year with the “Jerry Titus Memorial Award.”

Rich Vogler - In 1980, Vogler became the first driver to capture both the USAC sprint and midget titles in the same season.  He also won the midget crown in 1978, 1983, 1986 and 1988.  He won additional sprint car titles in 1980 and 1989.  A five-time Indy 500 qualifier, Vogler’s best showing was an 8^th place finish in 1989.  His record of 134 national event wins in various divisions of United States Auto Club competition ranks second behind only Inaugural Hall of Fame inductee A.J. Foyt.  Vogler's last victory came when, at age 39, he lost his life in an accident on the final lap while in the lead of a sprint car race at Salem Speedway in his home state of Indiana.

Induction Ceremony Corporate Sponsorships & Tickets are now available.  Click on links or call 248-349-7223 for more information.

The Motorsports Museum & Hall of Fame is operated by the Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame of America Foundation Inc.  Currently housed in the Detroit Science Center in the Motor City’s Museum District, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America features the sculptures and stories of 181 Heroes of Horsepower along with racing and high performance vehicles representing the broad spectrum of America motorsports.  The constantly changing collection features racers from the world of Indy cars, stock cars, motorcycles, drag racing, Can Am, sprint cars, powerboats, truck racing, karts, aviation and even snowmobiles.

About the Detroit Science Center

The Detroit Science Center is a hands-on museum that inspires its visitors to pursue and support careers in engineering, technology and science.  The Science Center features five theaters, including Michigan’s only Chrysler IMAX^® Dome Theatre, the Dassault Systèmes Planetarium, the Toyota Engineering Theater, the DTE Energy Sparks Theater and the Chrysler Science Stage; a 9,000 square-foot Science Hall for traveling exhibits; hands-on exhibit galleries focusing on space, life and physical science; the United States Steel Fun Factory; an exhibit gallery just for pint-size scientists; and a Special Events Lobby.  For more information, please call 313.577.8400 or visit the website, http://www.detroitsciencecenter.org.

Early next month, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America will introduce its Class of 2010, which will be inducted at the Fillmore Theater in Detroit on August 25.  Voters are currently filling out their ballots.  One question remains.  Who will be selected?

Will it be veteran driver and official Wally Dallenbach or champion owner Carl Haas who comes out on top in the Open Wheel Category?  Perhaps it’ll be two-time Indy 500 Champ Arie Luyendyk, “The Flying Dutchman.”  It also could be USAC’s sprint, stock and Indy car champ, Roger McCluskey, or Danny Sullivan who “spun and won” at Indianapolis in 1985.  Multiple sprint car and midget champion Rich Vogler is another possibility, as is 1997 and 1998 CART Champion Alex Zanardi.

In addition to Open Wheel, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America annually honors racing legends in six other categories.

The 2010 Stock Car ballot features two members of the “Alabama Gang,” Davey and Donnie Allison, back-to-back Cola-Cola 600 winner Neil Bonnett, “Handsome” Harry Gant, team owner extraordinaire Rick Hendrick, 1992 Winston Cup King Alan Kulwicki and 1989 Cup Champ Rusty Wallace.

The quarter-milers on the ballot this year are Kenny Bernstein’s mechanical genius and winning driver in his own right Dale Armstrong, “Blue Max” owner/driver Raymond Beadle, pioneering Funny Car driver Jack Chrisman, six-time NHRA Pro Stock Champion Warren Johnson, 22-time winner in Funny Car and Top Fuel Ed McCulloch and “The Old Master” engine builder Ed Pink.

Sports Car contenders in 2010 include IMSA Founder John Bishop, the “Kansas City Flash” Masten Gregory, pioneering driver and car builder Dick Guldstrand, four-time Trans Am Champion Tommy Kendall, 1960 SCCA Champion Augie Pabst, Chaparral driver and team manager Hap Sharp, as well as 1967 Trans Am Champ and writer Jerry Titus.

Motorcycle racers on the 2010 ballot include four-time AMA Grand National Champion Everett Brashear, three-time AMA flat track king Ricky Graham, winner of seven AMA motocross and supercross titles Rick Johnson, three-time Daytona 200 winner Richard Klamfoth, the first American 500cc World Motocross Champion Brad Lackey, seven-time AMA Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath, two-time Superbike World Champion Fred Merkel along with Bruce Penhall, America’s greatest speedway rider.

The Hall of Fame’s Historic Category honors racers who made their mark prior to 1970.  Those being considered this year are NASCAR’s first champion Red Byron, racer and stunt driver “The Chief” Joie Chitwood, motorcycle sidecar racer Pop Dreyer, industrialist and tire pioneer Harvey Firestone, mechanic/car builder Ray Nichels, 1955 Indy 500 winner Bob Sweikert and two-time NASCAR Grand National Champion Herb Thomas.

For the At Large Category in 2010, voters will exclusively consider media candidates.  Their choices are the original radio voice of the Indianapolis 500 Sid Collins, broadcaster and historian Donald Davidson, Petersen Publishing Co. founder Robert E. Petersen, historian/promoter/publicist Bob Russo, the broadcast voice of stock car racing Ken Squier, plus Car & Driver editor, commentator and author Brock Yates.

This year’s ballot is a result of an earlier vote by the Motorsports Hall of Fame’s permanent Nominating Committee, which consists of experts with an outstanding general knowledge of motorsports and/or are especially knowledgeable in specific categories.  Finalists were selected from a Master List of 193 eligible candidates.

Nominees receiving the most votes in each category upon final count of the ballots will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. The class will be announced in early February and the induction will take place at the Fillmore Theater in Detroit on August 25, 2010. 

INSPIRATION AND EMOTION RULE AS BERNSTEIN, HOBBS, PARKER, RICHTER, UNSER JR, WHEELER AND WEATHERLY ARE INDUCTEDINTO MOTORSPORTS HALL OF FAME OF AMERICA

NOVI, MI – Racing legends Kenny Bernstein, David Hobbs, Scott Parker, Les Richter, Al Unser, Jr., H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler and Joe Weatherly were inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America during an inspirational and emotional ceremony on Wednesday, August, 12, 2009 at the Fillmore Theater in Detroit.

In addition to those being honored, several racing notables took part in the proceedings. Track announcer Jim Mueller served as master of ceremonies. Hall of Fame hydroplane racer Mira Slovak read the stirring patriotic “My Creed” by Dean Alfange. Forrest and Charlotte Lucas, whose Lucas Oil Co. supporter nearly every form of motorsports, were on hand.

At this year’s Induction Ceremony, the list of presenters was nearly as impressive as the list of those being honored. Speed Channel’s Bob Varsha introduced Hobbs. Harley-Davidson’s Willie G. Davidson presented Parker. Roger Penske inducted Richter. Hall of Fame stock car legend Ned Jarrett presented and accepted on behalf of Weatherly. Long-time racing broadcaster Ken Squier introduced Wheeler. NHRA President Tom Compton presented Bernstein. And four-time Indy 500 champ Al Unser inducted his son.

Each year, those in attendance are treated to stirring video presentations that document the accomplishments of the honored Heroes of Horsepower. This year was no exception.

Bernstein’s video detailed how he became the King of Speed in 1992 when he was the first NHRA driver to break the 300 MPH barrier. He is a four-time Winston Funny Car champion and an IHRA Winston World Funny Car champ. Bernstein also is a two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion. He is still actively involved in drag racing as an owner.

The Hobbs presentation followed his exploits from three decades driving sports cars to his current role as a television broadcaster on Speed Channel. His driving career saw him win the SCCA Trans Am championship and close to 40 major race victories. Hobbs also fared well in his four Indy 500 starts and his Formula 1 debut in 1966.

Parker rode Harley-Davidsons for 21 years amassing 94 wins and a record nine dirt track championships. He is the only rider to have been named American Motorcyclist Athlete of the Year three times.

Richter was a former eight-time Pro Bowl football player with the Los Angeles Rams before becoming one of the co-owners of Riverside International Raceway and helped turn that track into one of the finest in the world. He also co-founded the International Race of Champions, became a vice president of NASCAR and played a dominant role in the development of California Speedway.

Unser, Jr. is known in racing circles as “Little Al” but his accomplishments are as big as his family name. Unser visited the winner circle at Indianapolis twice and also captured the CART crown and the IROC title two times.

For nearly three decades, Wheeler was the innovative president and general manager of Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte and helped make it one of the premiere racing facilities in the world, being the first to offer extensive VIP suites and condominiums.

Weatherly began his racing career and won three championships on motorcycles before switching to NASCAR, winning the 1953 Modified championship. Then, he went on to win the Grand National (now Sprint Cup) championship in 1962 and 1963. He ranks 19^th in all-time Cup wins with 24. He died in a 1964 accident at Riverside Raceway in California.

Plans already are underway for the 22^nd annual Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Induction Ceremony.

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